Spartacus (1960) - Quotes

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Taglines: The thrilling adventure that electrified the world!

Crassus: Do you steal?

Antoninus: No, master.

Crassus: Do you lie?

Antoninus: Not if I can avoid it.

Crassus: Have you... ever dishonored the gods?

Antoninus: No, master.

Crassus: Do you refrain from these vices out of respect for moral virtues?

Antoninus: Yes, master.

Crassus: Do you eat oysters?

Antoninus: When I have them, master.

Crassus: Do you eat snails?

Antoninus: No, master.

Crassus: Do you consider the eating of oysters to be moral, and the eating of snails to be immoral?

Antoninus: No, master.

Crassus: Of course not. It is all a matter of taste, isn't it?

Antoninus: Yes, master.

Crassus: And taste is not the same as appetite, and therefore not a question of morals, hmm?

Antoninus: It could be argued so, master.

Crassus: [approaches a balcony; looking toward Rome, as the garrison sets out; chuckles; turns around, and sees Antoninus gone] My robe, Antoninus. My taste includes both snails and oysters. Antoninus, look, across the river. There is something you must see. There, boy, is Rome. The might, the majesty, the terror of Rome. There is the power that bestrides the known world like a colossus. No man can withstand Rome. No nation can withstand her. How much less... a boy! Hmm? There is one way to deal with Rome, Antoninus. You must serve her. You must abase yourself before her. You must grovel at her feet. You must... love her. Isn't that so, Antoninus? Antoninus? Antoninus?

Spartacus: Stand up. On your feet. Stand up, the way a noble Roman should.

Slave: [the slaves laugh] That's Roman pride for you, Spartacus!

Spartacus: That's better. What's your name?

Glabrus: Marcus, Glabrus.

Spartacus: Glabrus.

Glabrus: Commander of the Garrison of Rome!

Spartacus: Commander?

Crixus: [the slaves laugh] He was commanding it on his belly when we found him, playing dead!

Spartacus: You disappoint me, Marcus Glabrus, playing dead. You afraid to die? It's easy to die. Haven't you seen enough gladiators in the arena to see how easy it is to die?

Glabrus: Why...what are you going to do to me?

Spartacus: [turns to the slaves] I don't know. What should we do with him?

Dionysus: [the slaves laugh] Let's have a matched pair, him and me!

Glabrus: I'll not fight like a gladiator!

Spartacus: [showing Glabrus a Roman baton] You keep staring at this. You recognize this baton?

Glabrus: Yes.

Spartacus: [holds up the baton; grips and snaps the baton in two] You should! It was in your tent. The symbol of the Senate! All the power of Rome!

Dionysus: That's the power of Rome!

Spartacus: [thrusting the broken baton at Glabrus] Take that back to your senate. Tell them you and that broken stick is all that's left of the garrison of Rome! Tell them we want nothing from Rome, nothing, except our freedom!

Dionysus: [watching two Roman nobles being forced by a slave on horseback to fight to the death] Ah-ha ha! Come on, fat boy! Yeah!

Slaves: [as Spartacus enters the arena] Spartacus! Hey, Spartacus!

Spartacus: [gestures to the slaves on the balcony; the slaves laugh; the slaves start booing] Noble Romans, fight each other like animals. Your new masters, betting to see who'll die first. Drop your weapons.

Slaves: No! No! No! No!

Crixus: [jumps down and draws his sword] I want to see their blood, right here where Draba died! When I fight matched pairs, they fight to the death!

Spartacus: [turns to the nobles; Spartacus turns to the slaves as the nobles scurry out of the arena] I made myself a promise, Crixus. I swore that if I ever get out of this place, I'd die before I saw two men fight to the death again. Draba made that promise too. He kept it, so will I. Go on. Get up! What are we, Crixus? What are we becoming, Romans? What's happening to us? Have we learned nothing? We hunt wine when we should be looking for bread.

Dionysus: When you got wine, you don't need bread!

Spartacus: You can't just be a gang of drunken raiders.

Dionysus: What else can we be?

Spartacus: Gladiators, an army of gladiators. There's never been an army like that. One gladiator is worth any two Roman soldiers that ever lived.

Crixus: We beat the Romans guards here, but a Roman army is different. They fight different than we do, too.

Spartacus: We can beat anything they send against us if we really want to.

Crixus: It takes a big army.

Spartacus: We'll have a big army. Once we're on the march, we'll free every slave in every town and village. Can anybody get a bigger army than that?

Dionysus: That's right. Once we cross the Alps, we're safe.

Crixus: Nobody can cross the Alps. Every pass is defended by its own legion.

Spartacus: What is your name?

Draba: You don't want to know mine. I don't want to know your name.

Spartacus: Just a friendly question.

Draba: Gladiators don't make friends. If we're ever matched in the arena together, I have to kill you.

Gracchus: You know, this republic of ours is something like a rich widow. Most Romans love her as their mother, but Crassus dreams of marrying the old girl, to put it politely.

Marcus Licinius Crassus: One of the disadvantages of being a patrician is that occasionally you're obliged to act like one.

Marcus Licinius Crassus: I'm not after glory, I'm after Spartacus! And gentlemen, I mean to have him. However, this campaign is not about killing Spartacus. It is to kill the legend of Spartacus.

Marcus Licinius Crassus: I promise you, a new Rome, a new Italy and a new empire. I promise the destruction of the slave army, and the restoration of order. I promise the living body of Spartacus for whatever punishment you may deem fit. That, or his head. This I have sworn, in the name of my fathers, in the temple that guards their bones.

Marcus Licinius Crassus: If there was no Rome, I'd dream of her. If there were no gods, I'd revere them.

Batiatus: But I'm a civilian. I'm more of a civilian than most civilians.

Batiatus: Good luck, and may fortune smile upon... most of you.

Spartacus: He'll come back. He'll come back, and he'll be millions!

Spartacus: [[w:Crixus|Crixus] ] always wanted to march on Rome. Now he doesn't have to. Rome has come to us.

Spartacus: I am Spartacus!

Spartacus: When a free man dies, he loses the pleasure of life. A slave loses his pain. Death is the only freedom a slave knows. That's why he's not afraid of it. That's why we'll win.

Spartacus: We've traveled a long ways together. We've fought many battles and won many victories. Now, instead of taking ships to our homes across the sea, we must fight again once more. Maybe there's no peace in this world, for us or for anyone else, I don't know. But I do know that as long as we live, we must remain true to ourselves.

Spartacus: I'd rather be here, a free man among brothers, facing a long march and a hard fight, than the richest citizen in Rome: fat with food he didn't work for, and surrounded by slaves.